Meme Campaigning for Family Farms

Rural Vermont: 1 Contaminated Farm is 1 too many

Rural Vermont
Montpelier, VT

The Problem: Genetically Engineered foods pose threats to family farmers, human health, and our environment, and there is no policy framework to deal with the impacts of this rapidly evolving technology. Companies like Monsanto use shady seed contracts and intimidation tactics to sue farmers for seed patent infringement when the genetic material contaminates their neighboring farms. Farmers in Vermont are at risk of predatory lawsuits from big biotechnology corporations.

The Solution: Labeling of Genetically Engineered seeds, and The Farmer Protection Act – a law to hold the manufacturers (patent holders) of genetically engineered seeds liable for “drift” and contamination, NOT farmers.

The Strategy: Rural Vermont organized farmers and local-food advocates to pressure state lawmakers to adopt policies to protect farmers’ interests. After GE crop contamination was uncovered in the state, they rallied around the slogan of “1 contaminated farm is 1 too many.”  A critical piece of the strategy was amplifying the leadership of farmers, both organic and conventional, and building the narrative of the campaign around Vermont’s’ culture of family farming and the rural way of life. The multi-year campaign used tactics ranging from letter writing, to rallies, to print advertisements, to nonviolent direct actions. An aggressive media strategy and popular education push made “genetic engineering” a household term in Vermont.

The 2005-2006 scarecrow  meme campaign was designed to capture the sprit of the Farmer Protection Act, and symbolize the safeguarding of the crops and the farmers. The meme carried the Rural Vermont story and quickly spread across the state. Scarecrows appeared in print ads and posters, and in real life on the roadsides, on the state house lawn, and at Rural Vermont rallies.

smartMeme’s Role:SmartMeme supported Rural Vermont as key constituent-led, membership organization that was tackling a critical global issue at the local level. Rural Vermont is providing the movement against genetically engineered agriculture with an inspiring model of innovative policy work with a grassroots base. SmartMeme’s role ranged from media strategy and messaging, to meme concepting, communications support and advertising.

The Result: In 2004 Rural Vermont successfully passed the Farmers’ Right to Know GE Seed Labeling and Registration Act. This law puts the USDA organic standards’ definition of “genetically modified” into Vermont statute, and requires that GE seeds be clearly labeled as such. The Farmer Protection Act passed in the Senate in 2006 with a vote of 19-8. Despite the estimated thousands of calls to the governor's office in support of the bill that followed, on May 15, 2006 he vetoed the bill. Rural Vermont, with an organized base and clear vision for Vermont agriculture, has continued their work to build the movement for “living soils, thriving farms, and healthy communities.”

Learn More about Rural Vermont